Depending on a woman’s cultural background she may believe breast cancer is contagious, that talking about the disease will bring it on, that it is associated with a yin and yang imbalance or perhaps the development of breast cancer reflects a form of punishment for past behaviour.
National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre launched a campaign on 4 October 2005, to cut through the misconceptions and provide women of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds with culturally appropriate and potentially life-saving breast cancer information in their own language.
As part of this campaign, National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre has developed a range of resources to inform women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds about breast cancer symptoms, the importance of early detection, and to assist women diagnosed with breast cancer in making decisions about their treatment and support.
The resources have been developed in Chinese, Vietnamese, Greek, Italian and Arabic. English versions are available for each resource. See below:
Breast Cancer - Finding It Early Could Save Your Life
English version
Arabic version
Chinese version
Greek version
Italian version
Vietnamese version
Do You Have A Breast Change?
English version
Arabic version
Chinese version
Greek version
Italian version
Vietnamese version
Information for women with early breast cancer
English version
Arabic version
Chinese version
Greek version
Italian version
Vietnamese version
A series of dedicated telephone numbers have also been established through the Cancer Council NSW’s Multi-cultural Information Service to allow women to order one of the new resources or speak with a bi-lingual health worker.
Studies have shown:
- Explanations of cancer among Chinese women referred to concepts of karma, retribution and fate.
- Many Vietnamese women tend to have a fatalistic approach to cancer, accepting illness as part of one’s destiny.
- When speaking about cancer, many Italian women tended to avoid the name of the disease and instead spoke about ‘that terrible illness’.
- In the Greek community there is a stigma attached to receiving a cancer diagnosis and some believe cancer is contagious.
- Breast cancer evokes fear and mystery among many Arabic women and is a culturally taboo topic.
The telephone numbers to call for breast cancer information and advice are:
Greek 1300 301 449
Italian 1300 301 431
Chinese 1300 300 935 (Cantonese and Mandarin)
Vietnamese 1800 501 953
Arabic 1300 301 625
Copies of the resources can also be ordered in print through National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre:
Call: 1800 624 973 or order online www.nbocc.org.au/resources
